Correction: This article has been updated to correct an error. In order to be eligible for HomePath buyer’s agent incentives and closing-cost assistance to buyers, the property sale must have closed on or before Dec. 31, 2010, and must have also closed within 60 days of the offer’s acceptance.

Back in the scary days of September 2008 when it seemed our financial world was nearing collapse, the government stepped in and took over Fannie Mae along with its counterpart Freddie Mac.

The two are now 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers, and the future of these two mortgage giants is still in doubt, with estimates as high as $1 trillion to fix all the problems, mostly busted loans, at these GSEs (government-sponsored enterprises).

While government stewardship is unnerving at best, Fannie Mae has nevertheless pushed forward to help recirculate thousands of its properties that have gone into foreclosure. One of its best programs has been the early-2009 launching of homepath.com, a website that helps buyers acquire a Fannie Mae foreclosed home.